By Keith Idec

Mike Perez is headed to the hometown of a powerful opponent who hasn’t lost as a professional.

The Cuban cruiserweight contender still is full of confidence. The former heavyweight feels he is the best fighter in the World Boxing Super Series’ cruiserweight tournament and cannot wait to start proving it Saturday.

In just his second bout in this division, the 31-year-old Perez (22-2-1, 14 KOs) will get a shot at unbeaten WBC champion Mairis Briedis (22-0, 18 KOs) at Riga Arena in Riga, Latvia, where Briedis was born and still resides. Briedis beat Marco Huck by unanimous decision in his last fight – April 1 in Dortmund, Germany – to win the WBC cruiserweight title.

“It’s an opportunity of a lifetime,” Perez said. “Fighting in Latvia isn’t an issue for me. I don’t care where I fight. I’ll fight anywhere. I feel good, I’m confident and I’m looking forward to Riga. I have a chance to become world champion in my very first fight in the tournament, so I couldn’t have asked for better.”

The 32-year-old Briedis impresses Perez, but the Cork, Ireland, resident is eager to accomplish at cruiserweight what he couldn’t do as a heavyweight.

Perez moved down to cruiserweight following a first-round technical knockout defeat to former WBA heavyweight champion Alexander Povetkin (32-1, 23 KOs) in May 2015 in Moscow. He knocked out Slovakia’s Viktor Biscak (10-1, 7 KOs) in the first round of his cruiserweight debut June 10 in Belfast, Northern Ireland.

“Breidis is a good champion, but I can’t wait to bring the belt home,” Perez said. “I’m so lucky to fight for the Muhammad Ali Trophy and also become the undisputed cruiserweight champion in this tournament. I have no doubt that I will do just that. I have worked hard for these last couple of years and really dedicated myself to get this chance, and nobody is going to take it from me.

“I have lots of experience as both an amateur and professional, a lot of ability and now at cruiserweight, I’m much faster on my feet and can throw faster combinations, so I feel like I’m a better fighter. I really believe I can win the Muhammad Ali Trophy. That is how I see it. I think I will win. I cannot see anyone else winning it. I am the best cruiserweight in the competition.”

The WBSS cruiserweight quarterfinal between Briedis and Perez can be viewed live on the tournament’s website, worldboxingsuperseries.com, on Saturday at 5 p.m. ET/2 p.m. PT.

The winner will advance to the semifinals to face unbeaten WBO cruiserweight champion Oleksandr Usyk. Ukraine’s Usyk (13-0, 11 KOs) stopped Germany’s Huck (40-5-1, 27 KOs) in the 10th round of his WBSS quarterfinal fight September 9 in Berlin.

Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.